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McCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK, S. C THURSDAY, JULY 25, lf»4fl 150 Years Ago Uncle Sam Was Saying: 'I Want You for My Army,' but He Had Much Less to Offer Than He Has Today Recruiting Instructions &or f(y&rv — 7^2/ ojtn^cc&ituj *— » in the cfexvice of the 'United dtcitee. SIR. 4*-s£-. T f * fc ‘ Tf'* 11 '—■* —T { you are immediately to commence the recruiting fervice in the State of— G<ynmx£CCtu£ — The principal rendezvous will be at — cHidjdJltto&n? _ vstCL, -e+zM Your recruits will be furnilhed by— &pftL ll at— jdLd* : ** M *s , with rations, barracks, barrack utenfils, ft raw and fuel j and alfo with fuch neceftary medicinal aftiftance as they may require. T}l»«<cru«* i —■*^»rvice is (bmetime^bufed. Gen. Henry Knox, secretary of war, was sending these instructions to his recruiting officers back in 1792. By ELMO SCOTT WATSON ifBeleased by Western Newspaper Union.) Y OU see it everywhere now—on sidewalk bill boards that stand in front of post offices or in the corridors of other public :buildings. It’s a , poster in .which an arresting figure catches the eye apd holds it long enough to deliver this laconic message to the young men of America: It’s a part of Uncle Sam’s campaign to increase one of bis arms of defense to a new peacetime strength of 480,000 men. For, if the flames of war leap across the Atlantic and the forces of totalitarian ism threaten his land, Uncle f Sam intends to be prepared in time to resist them suc cessfully. One hundred and fifty years ago be was engaged in a similar canv- paign, yet how different! There was no such emergency then as ■ow, although Uncle Sam, then but a stripling, had already heard the rumblings of an imminent war ' across the ocean. More than that, two disasters to his puny army on the western frontier had made him uncomfortably aware af how inadequate he was to de fend the new nation if trouble came to its shores. , From its beginnings, the United States has been a peace-loving nation and has figuratively leaned aver backwards to avoid any semblance of militarism. The founding fathers, seeing in Europe the results of despotic power sup- puled by a strong military estab- fishment, resolved that there should be no such thing here to Under their efforts to establish a government whose power would be derived "from the consent of the governed.” When Washington became our first President two of the prin cipal objectives of his adminis tration were the establishment of a strong financial system and a sound military organization. Al exander Hamilton, his secretary of the treasury, provided the for mer, but Gen. Henry Knox, his secretary of war, had more dif ficulty in securing the latter. Knox prepared a plan for com-* pulsory military training and v service, which Washington fecom-'v." mended to congress on January 1, 1790. It was not favorably teceived, mainly because Knox, in his letter pf transmittal, said that his pro posed continental militia would protect the country from internal as well as external enemies and be also stressed his opinion that “the government should possess a strong corrective arm.” The secretary’s choice of words was unfortunate, especially at Ibis particular time when con gress was trying to safeguard the liberties of the people by enact- mg a Bill of Rights as the first amendments to the Constitu tion. Naturally a proposal for "a strong corrective arm” rang harshly on the congressional ear and Knox’s plan was rejected. First National Defense Bill. On July 1, 1790, Elias Boudinot af New Jersey introduced a na tional defense bill which proposed that the organization and training of our peacetime army consist of grouping all the younger men in special "light infantry com panies” in each regiment of the general militia. If war came, fiiese companies could be assem bled into battalions and regi ments and thus form a new Con tinental army. Similar com panies were to be formed in the other branches of the service and all of them were to have a "sound system of discipline” and be trained under federal supervision. The first congress failed to act on the Boudinot bill and in the first session of the second con gress a similar measure was in troduced by Jeremiah Wadsworth of Connecticut. But before it was finally passed it was so amended and emasculated that Wadsworth himself voted "no” on it. Washington, though greatly dis appointed in this new militia law, nevertheless signed it with the hope that it might be amended later. How worthless was this law was proved two decades later when the nation tried to assem ble an army to repel the invasion of the British in the War of 1812. It failed miserably with the result that the enemy easily defeated the defenders of Washington, cap tured that city and burned the Capitol and the White House. Meanwhile events on the fron tier already had proved that our regular army was inadequate to perform the tasks expected of it. In 1790 it suffered a severe re verse under the leadership of Gen. Josiah Harmar who was sent to subdue the hostile tribes in the Old Northwest. The next year occurred the defeat and rout of the army led by Gen. Arthur St. Clair, the worst military disaster in America since the days of Braddock. These two fiascoes not only resulted in the Indians renewing their attacks on the western settlements with even greater fury but they indicated to an alarmed country how im potent was the new federal gov ernment. More than that, France and England were on the verge of re- . newing their ancient feud and there was danger of the United States being drawn into it. All of these factors pointed to the urgent necessity of our strength ening our forces for national defense. So Secretary Knox launched his recruiting campaign to obtain a regular army that would be equal to the task of de feating the confederation of tribes which had been formed by Chief Little Turtle of the Miamis. In the light of the present drive to increase our army, the instruc tions to recruiting officers sent out by Secretary Knox in 1792 MZltPX make interesting reading today. Indicative of the difficulties which the federal government was hav ing in those days is the secre tary’s statement that "The re cruiting service is sometimes abused, both as it respects the individuals recruited and the pub lic at large—that is, recruits are unwarily and unworthily entan gled, contrary to their intentions; such men generally desert the service, at some critical'moment, or serve grudgingly, and set bad examples to others; or, unsuit able persons are engaged, who are constitutionally defective and unfit for the hardships incident to a military life ... In order there fore to avoid the errors of this business, the following instruc tions are to serve as the general rules and principles of your con duct.” Knox’s Recruiting Instructions. He then goes on to list the reg ulations governing recruiting. Some of them were as follows: The recruits are to be Inlisted for three years, unless sooner discharged. Each recruit is to receive a bounty of Eight Dollars; but no part of this sum is to be advanced until the recruit shall have been fairly inlisted and sworn be fore a Magistrate, according to the form herein prescribed, and then only the said sum is to be advanced in such propor tions as the Judgment of the recruiting officer shaU dictate, until experience shall in some degree have ascertained the fideUty of the recruit. Every recruiting officer shall be al lowed the sum of Two Dollars, for the trouble and expence of inlisting each re cruit;—provided however, that such al lowance will not be made for any re cruit who shall desert before he shall march from the rendezvous of the troops in the State where he shall have been recruited. The utmost fairness is to be used by the recruiting officers, in engaging their recruits; no individual therefore is to be inlisted in a state of intoxication, or to be sworn until after he shall have been , inlisted for the space of twenty-four hours. Each recruit (musicians excepted) must be five feet and five inches in heighth, without shoes: he must also be healthy, robust, and sound in his limbs and body, in all respects; and to ascer tain which he must be thoroughly ex amined, previously to inlistment, by a Physician or Surgeon;—but if, notwith standing this direction, a recruit should have any secret disease at the time of his inlistment, the expence of his cure, if retained in service, shall be deducted from his pay. Each recruit, before he is sworn, is to have distinctly read to him the rules and articles of war against mutiny and deser tion, and relative to the administration of Justice; and also the Act of Congress of the 30th of April 1790, establishing the rations, clothing, and compensation in cases of disability; and the Act of the 5th of March 1792, establishing the pay: ‘after which he is to take the following Oath, before a Magistrate, to wit: *T A. B. do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) to bear true alle giance to the United States of America, and to serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies or opposers whomsoever, and to observe and to obey the orders of the President of the United States of America, and the orders of the officers appointed over me according to the articles of war.” Each recruit (musicians excepted) must be above eighteen and under forty five years of age. No negro, mulatto, or Indian, to be recruited. All the recruits, if possible, to be na tives of fair conduct, or foreigners of good character for sobriety and fidelity, and who have been some years in the country. Any recruiting officer inlisting a vagrant, or transient person, who shall desert before marching from the place of rendezvous, shall reimburse out of his pay the loss sustained by such deser tion—It is therefore important that the officers be attentive on this point, as a compliance with this order will be rigidly exacted. The public interests will be better served by a small army of brave, robust, and faithful soldiers, than by a multitude of vagabonds. As soon as the recruits shall be as sembled at the rendezvous, they are to be taught, by gentle methods, regularity of conduct, as it shall respect cleanli ness of their persons, diet and rooms, and also due subordination, and they are to be exercised at least four hours in every day, in the attitudes and other first principles of a soldier. Qualifications Today. Compare with those specifica tions laid down by Henry Knox, the qualifications for enlistment in the regular army today: Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 35 for original enlistment, unmarried, without other dependents, and those un der 21 must have the written con sent of parents or guardians; they must be at least five feet four inches in height, and weigh not less than 115 pounds; they must be of good moral character as evidenced by written testimoni als from reputable citizens of their respective communities; they must be in good health and free from incapacitating or dis figuring deformities; they must be citizens of the United States by birth or naturalization at the time of enlistment; and they must be able to pass certain in telligence and literacy tests pre scribed for the regular army. Monthly rates of pay for the several grades as prescribed by law at present are as follows: Master sergeant, $126 to $157.50; technical sergeant, $84 to $105; staff sergeant, $72 to $90; sergeant, $54 to $67.50; corporal, $42 to $52.50; private, first class, $30 to $37.50; private, $21 to $26.25. The first figure given in each in stance is the pay of the grade during the first four years of service. This amount is in creased by 5 per cent every four / years, until a total of 25 per cent' has been added. In addition to the foregoing, numerous special ists ratings are provided for,pri vates and privates, first class, whereby their pay is materially increased. In addition to these monthly wages, Uncle Sam furnishes clothing, food, housing and free medical and dental treatment. In view of all these facts it is easy to understand why he is hav ing a greater and readier re sponse to his "I want YOU for the United States Army” than he would likely have had if it had been uttered back in 1792! DYNAMITE USE IS DANGEROUS Big Aid to Farmer, but Cau tion Is Required. By E. W. SCHROEDER While dynamite is a valuable ally to the farmer in removing stumps and boulders, it also is dangerous. Caps or detonators are more dan gerous to handle than dynamite itself, and fuse caps cause more accidents than electric caps. Misfires are fewer with electric caps and can be corrected as soon as the source of electric current is dis connected. Danger from smoldering fuses is eliminated also, and the simultaneous firing of several shots is made possible. About 250 feet of insulated double wire is necessary for use with elec tric caps, but the cost of blasting with them is no higher than with the cap and fuse method once the extra equipment has been provided. The current may be supplied by an inexpensive blasting machine, a dry cell, or a storage battery. What ever device is used to set off elec tric caps should be removed from the proximity of the wires and caps every time a shot is fired. Medium speed, 40 per cent dyna mite, is the kind most commonly available for farm use. Most of these dynamites contain some nitro glycerin, but there are 40 per cent dynamites on the market which con tain none of this chemical and con sequently can be handled without danger of headache, an affliction from which many blasters suffer. Visitors Not Squeamish, Exhibit Vote Shows The public is not so squeamish as some sponsors of scientific ex hibit material have feared. In a public exhibition of its work last spring the bureau of animal industry. United States department of agriculture, showed in the patio of the Agriculture building real istic wax models of diseased tis sues of animals. Most of these rep resented conditions disclosed in the course of federal meat inspection at packing houses. This familiar serv ice detects diseased meat and pre vents it from getting into channels of trade. Some members of the department staff had feared that public display of these specimens would prove too gruesome for many spectators. Oth ers regarded them as of interest and having distinct educational value. To settle the question, visitors to the exhibit were asked to vote "Yes” or “No” as to the desirability of further displays of this collection. Of nearly 1,000 visitors who took the trouble to vote only 34 found the exhibit distasteful and 938 re garded it as educational and desir able for public display. In connection with the exhibit, an official statement showed that most food animals slaughtered in federal ly inspected establishments in the United States are healthy, only a small fraction of 1 per cent failing to pass inspection. U. S. Farm Families Have Adequate Diets “The family of a laborer making $500 a year might never see many of the foods served regularly on the table of a corporation president with an income of $100,000,” says an article on present-day diets in the United States in the current Year book of Agriculture. “Yet in both instances the foods comprising the diets can be classed into the same dozen or so food groups and the food values can be translated into the same nutritional terms,” accord ing to the bureau of home econom ics. After surveys covering diets of representative groups in the various parts of the country, food econo mists have translated the items into nutritional equivalents and they find that a larger proportion of farm families than city families have fair or good diets. This superiority of farm diets is traceable to the better supply of protective foods that the farms furnish—milk, butter, eggs, fresh vegetables, and fruits. In every region of the country families living on farms tend to rank first in the proportion that have good diets. Next in rank as to goodness of diet come the families in the large and middle-sized cities. Diets in the villages rank lowest of all because many villagers do not have much home-produced food, nor do they have access to as good an assortment as is offered in metro politan markets. Farm Notes Greater use of poultry pastures will lower pullet production costs. • • • U. S. turkeys are evolving towards birds with larger breasts, providing more white meat. * * • Common barbed wire can be used in an electric fence. In fact, some farmers prefer it to smooth wire be cause live stock know it and car see it more easilv. IF YOU have weight to consider, you couldn’t choose a more at tractive and becoming fashion than this gracious, softly detailed dress (8679) with high-cut front panel that diminishes the waist line and flattens the diaphragm. It fits beautifully over the bust, thanks to gathers at the waistline EPARTH F NT and beneath the cleverly shaped yoke. The bow at the deep neck line adds a soft, dressy touch, without fussiness. The skirt is classically plain and slim-hipped, with moderate fullness at the hem. Make, this for bridge parties, luncheons and club affairs, choosing .chiffon, georgette or voile, with frills of lace or ruffling. And for all its expensive, distinguished appear ance, this dress is easy to make. Pattern No. 8679 is designed for sizes 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50 and 52. Size 38 requires, with short sleeves, SYs yards of 39-inch material without nap; 1% yards’ ruffling. Send order to: SEWING CIRCLE PATTERN DEPT. Room 1324 211 W. 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